Flickers of the Future
by Wackysocks
Summary: Sequel to Flashes of the Future, companion to Glances of the Future. James takes the potion a second time after his marriage to Lily. What does he see? Is his time with Lily over? James' POV.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer **- **I do not own the Harry Potter series or any of the characters; all are properties of J.K. Rowlings.

_**Flickers of the Future**_

Chapter 1

James wearily turned to walk down to the Potions classroom. He had been patrolling inside of Hogwarts all day with hardly a break at all. However, it had been a newly established rule because of the war going on, and someone had to do it. This week was his and Lily's week. It was safe, for Voldemort would have to be mad to attack Hogwarts, but it was also pretty boring.

_Boom!_

An explosion came from the Potions classroom, dead ahead of him. James took the last twenty yards at a sprint and wrenched the door open, which swung shut behind him.

A large cloud of smoke was rising up from Professor Slughorn's desk, which now bore a large scorch mark. The class was laughing uproariously.

"This is what happens," Professor Slughorn said over the noise, "when this potion is made incorrectly. Can someone explain why?"

A girl with curly blonde hair raised her hand and spouted some answer about chemical properties that James would have expected Lily to know in their seventh year.

"Correct!" proclaimed Professor Slughorn. "Ten points to Ravenclaw. Those chemicals possess very touchy properties, and _that_ is precisely why you must never, ever mix porcupine quills with crocodile spleens. Whatever the amount, the chemicals will react very strongly, causing an explosion such as the one you just witnessed."

He flicked his wand, and the scorch mark disappeared. "Now if you will observe this potion over here . . ."

"Did you just get here?" someone whispered.

James looked down to see Lily standing beside him. He hadn't heard her come in.

"Yeah. The explosion I heard pretty much freaked me out," he whispered back.

Lily smiled. "You scared me as well. I didn't know what kind of thing had just entered the Potions classroom."

James smirked. "Yeah, I'm regular fright, aren't I?"

Lily giggled, but before she could reply, James heard his name.

". . . which Mr. and Mrs. Potter have both taken before, in their Seventh Year."

James looked up at the Professor to see him smiling at them. "I'm sorry?" he heard Lily say.

The professor gestured at a small black cauldron sitting on a table. "_Video Futurum_," he announced proudly.

Memories poured into James' head. "Ohhh, man," groaned James. The class laughed.

"This potion will allow the drinker to see four of their possible future lives," Professor Slughorn began. As he listed the functions and risks, James looked down at his wife. _That potion was my breakthrough_, he thought. _Kinda trippy what kind of stuff you see when under the influence of that stuff . . . _

As if Lily heard his thoughts, she blushed under his gaze and looked back at the professor.

"How much of your future do you get to see?" asked the same girl who had answered the professor's earlier question about chemical properties.

"Since the drinker is only asleep for fifteen minutes, it only ends up being a small glance, Miss Flattery. Yes, Mr. Beezeley?"

"May I ask Mr. Potter a question?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Potter, what was it like to drink the potion?"

James was surprised. _Someone is asking me?_ "Well, you feel yourself get very sleepy. When you fall asleep, you view the scene in your own body. You keep your own thoughts, but you also have others that aren't yours. Memories you didn't have before. When a scene is over, everything fades into black, and suddenly you're in the next one." _Well, that sounded stupid._

However, nobody else seemed to think it was. Many people were taking notes, and Professor Slughorn was nodding approvingly.

"Now, may I have two volunteers?"

The class looked up at him, bug-eyed. _Oh come __on! _James thought. _It's just a stupid potion! It's not like it's going to hurt you! If it's anything like my experience, the fourth scene will be quite delightful._ Then James had a brilliant stroke of inspiration.

"Lily and I will take it again," James announced. _What else is there to see? Will I get another scene with Lily as happy as last time?_

Everybody looked at him.

"Are you sure, Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Slughorn, looking a little shocked.

"Yep. Our shift is over, and we've done it once before. We can do it again, right Lily?" James looked at her. She looked appalled.

"Umm, yeah," she said slowly. Her face had always been easy to read – this was the last thing she wanted to be doing, though she wouldn't mention that in front of a class full of students. James knew he would definitely hear about this from her when they got home.

Professor Slughorn's face beamed. "Brilliant! Step this way, please." His wand flicked, and two cots and goblets appeared, identical to the ones he had Conjured four years ago. James strode up to the one on the right (ironically in the same position as his other one had been) and sat down.

Professor Slughorn handed him a goblet of the potion. James downed it in one go and lay down on his cot. _Alright now, potion. Show me a beautiful, happy scene with Lily, please. No more of this worrying and war stuff. I want a little happiness._

"You may come up here and observe the potion and Mr. and Mrs. Potter, if you wish. A one-foot essay will be due on Tuesday."

James heard the class groan as if through a tunnel. His eyes drooped shut, and his mind melted away into sleep . . .

o.o.o.o.o

James was sitting at the dinner table, eating the last bits of some sort of stew. It was dark outside. He flicked his wand, watched the dish wash itself, and leaned back in his chair.

It was quiet in his apartment without Lily here. For the seven months of their marriage, she had made the dreary rooms feel like home with her singing and smiles. But it didn't matter now. She was gone.

_WHAT?_ James thought wildly. _Divorced? No! _

But then it all came back to him. The first few months were all bliss and giddy happiness. Then they started fighting. Marriages required love and sacrifices to thrive, and neither of them had been willing to sacrifice for the other. Thus, their marriage had fallen apart.

James looked down at his hand. No wedding ring. He looked up at the room. The flowers that Lily usually kept on the table were gone. So were the apples from the fruit bowl (_An apple a day keeps the Healers away! _he could hear her say) and the chiming Muggle clock from the wall that his (former) mother-in-law had given them for Christmas.

He put his head in his hands, ignoring the stinging of tears in his eyes. The apartment had become again what it had been when he bought it – a dreary, miserable hole.

And he was alone, and miserable, and pining for her. The hole in his chest ached. Oh, how he missed her! He missed her beautifully curly red hair, and her brilliant green eyes, and her vibrant laugh, and her infectious smile. He missed holding her at night and waking up in the morning to find her still in his arms.

He had been stupid. So had she, but that was beside the point. The point was that now he was alone. There would never be another person to equal Lily, and now the many years of his life stretched before him like an endless road in the desert – years that he would spend alone on nights like this, _wishing _that he could turn back time and fix the mistake that had ruined his life.

The room faded.

o.o.o.o.o

He was standing in a field. Someone was reciting a mournful-sounding speech in front of a coffin in front of him. James chanced a glance around him. There were several of his and Lily's friends all gathered around, all dressed in black, most with tears running down their faces.

Come to think of it, tears were running down _his _face. More like pouring, actually. Since when he become a water spout?

And then it hit him. _Lily_.

He could hardly bear it, but he looked at the coffin and there she was, her eyes closed and her hands clasped over her stomach. Her red hair was artfully arranged around her shoulders.

". . . a woman of courage. A woman whom we shall all remember for her bravery that night. A woman . . ."

That night.

_James came home and saw the note on the table in her curly script._

_Dear Jamesy James,_

_I have gone to Marlene's to visit and shop. She lives right outside of London in one of those Muggle towns that so thrilled your mum when I last went shopping with her. I'll be back late, alright? Dinner's in the fridge._

_Love, _

_Your Lily_

_James rolled his eyes. Jamesy James? That meant she was in a playful mood, which meant that later tonight . . . _

_There was a tapping on the window. James looked up to see a Ministry owl with a letter tied to its leg._

Oh, that letter. James decided he hated letters. It had been a letter that let him know she had left, and a letter that had let him know she was never coming back. James swiped his hand across his face for the umpteenth time and gazed upon Lily's still form. _Why did you have to go? _he asked her silently. _I need you. _

"Mr. Potter?" The old wizard who had been reading Lily's eulogy (none of which James had heard) looked at him expectantly. James stepped forward to the coffin, reached out, and touched Lily's face. She was so cold, and so hard – nothing like the vivacious woman he married. Trying to blink back more tears, and failing as they ran down his face, he closed the coffin over her face and stepped back. The wizard lifted his wand, and slowly the coffin was lowered into the hole.

The crowd began to sing a hymn. However, it was not the mournful tune, but the wizard's final act that caused James to lose the rest of his self-control. When the dirt from the hole covered hid Lily's coffin from view, he broke down and wept. _Oh, Lily Lily Lily! Why? Why did you have to go? I need you! I love you so much and I need you in my life and I'll never see you again._ James felt someone's arm go around him, probably Sirius', as he wept like he hadn't since he was a little boy. _I'll never see her again. Never ever . . . _

The room faded.

o.o.o.o.o

James was standing in a white room, sitting on the edge of his chair. A room that he recognized, a split second later, as a waiting room in St. Mungo's. Adrenaline raced through his body – he was nervous.

Nervous?

He looked up at the walls. There was a sign there. **Maternity Ward #1 – Birthing Ward. **

Just then, James heard a woman scream in agony. It was Lily.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!" Voices murmured through the walls, then he heard someone count faintly, "One, two . . ."

Lily screamed again. "_Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!! _Aaaaahhh uhhh . . ."

James froze as the screams abruptly stopped with something akin to a groan.

More hushed voices, murmurs, movements.

After an agonizing minute, James heard her again, only this time, she was sobbing. And it wasn't just any crying. He knew, for he had heard her cry before and this was different from any crying of hers that he had ever witnessed. She was heartbroken.

A Healer opened the door and beckoned him in. James got up and followed the Healer into the room. There was Lily on the hospital bed, covered in sweat, her hair plastered to her forehead. Blood was spattered on the sheets between her legs. A Healer was beside her, holding her hand as she cried. Tears ran down her face, her eyes closed. "No," she was saying through her sobs, "no no no no no . . ."

The Healer next to James spoke. "I'm so sorry," he said in a low voice. "We couldn't do anything. Your son didn't last for more than twenty seconds."

Then James saw the small white bundle lying on a side table and realized what exactly had happened. He blinked his eyes rapidly as they started to fill, and looked at the Healer. The Healer was looking at Lily, concerned.

"The child died because the mother was too worn out. Her body was too stressed, too worn out for a safe delivery, and the child came too premature for us to save it." The Healer looked back at James. "She has been exhausted and stressed for months. I can tell. You need to tell her to take care of herself, or she will get sick and possibly die as well."

"James," said Lily. James looked at her. Her beautiful green eyes were fastened on him, glistening tears spilling out of them and running down her face. She reached out to him and he went to her, sitting on a chair next to her bed.

He cupped her face. "Lily," he said, his voice cracking as his own tears threatened to overtake him. "It's okay, Lily."

"I lost him, J-James, I l-l-l-lost him . . ." Lily's words trailed off and she once again succumbed to the heartbroken weeping that comes from the pain that only a mother who has lost her child can know.

James held her the best he could with her in a hospital bed and himself in a chair. There was nothing else he could do, and his heart ached for her and for the child that he would never know.

The room faded.

o.o.o.o.o

"Daddy!" someone yelled. A large weight landed on his feet, and James' eyes shot open.

A little three-year-old boy was bouncing on the bottom of the bed, yelling his name. James sat up, put on his glasses, and took in his surroundings in a glance.

He was at their home in Godric Hollow. Lily was stirring beside him, woken as well by the little boy's yells. The little boy looked very much like James, and his pajamas were covered in those crazy contraptions that Muggles used to get to far places. Airplanes, Lily called them.

"Presents, Daddy, presents!" the little boy yelled. James smiled and rubbed his eyes and said, "Hold on, Harry. We have to let Mommy wake up first."

"Mommy is awake!" Harry yelled. "Mommy wants presents!"

Lily opened her eyes slowly, then focused on James' face. "Good morning," James said, looking down at her.

Lily smiled softly and closed her eyes again. "Morn'n" she mumbled.

"Mama!" James looked up to see a little red-haired girl come running into the room. She was wearing a little nightgown of the brightest pink that he had ever seen in his entire life. She pulled herself up onto the bed and crawled up to hug Lily. "Mama! Mewy Kismahs!"

At this, Lily opened her eyes and smiled at the little girl. "Merry Christmas, Rosie," she said.

"_Presents_, Mommy!" Harry was not to be forgotten.

Lily sat up and looked at James. Her red hair was tousled and bushy from sleep. "Okay, James," she said. "Time for the morning festivities to begin." She moved her legs out of bed.

"PRESENTS!" yelled Harry, and took off downstairs.

"Pehsent!" yelled Rosie, imitating her brother and running to follow him.

Lily got out of bed and went to the closet for her bathrobe. James watched her walk, a little bit heavier and less gracefully because of the child she was carrying inside of her. _She is beautiful._

He got out of bed, pulled on a t-shirt and slippers, and walked over to her. She pulled her hair back into a messy bun and looked up at him. "Ready?" she asked.

"Just about," he replied, leaning down to kiss her mouth. She leaned into him, sighing contentedly. James kissed her forehead and then the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her. "Just think," he said, "In a few months time, I'll have to start hugging you from the back again."

"Mmmmmm," was his response.

"_Daddy!_"

"We'd better go," murmured Lily.

James walked out of the room and down the stairs, one arm still wrapped around his wife.

The two little kids were waiting impatiently downstairs. After Lily made hot chocolate and coffee and the kids had scalded their tongues from drinking too soon, they opened presents. It didn't last very long. Sometimes James thought that the kids liked ripping wrapping paper as much as they liked getting the gifts inside.

As soon as they were done, Harry begged James to teach him how to play Gobstones – Sirius' gift to him. _Not exactly the smartest thing for a three-year-old_, thought James, so he tapped the stones with his wand to lessen the squirting. Lily would not be happy if her son grew up half-blind from an overly sensitive Gobstone.

As James taught Harry how to play, he glanced over at Lily and watched her show Rosie how to use the new doll that her Grandma Evans had given her. Lily tipped the doll back. "Mama," the doll said mechanically. Rosie giggled and reached for the doll herself.

_It talks?_ thought James, surprised. _That is so strange. Muggles come up with the weirdest ideas_.

Lily looked up to see James watching her. She smiled, her green eyes glowing with happiness. A similar sort of glow was growing inside of James, filling him with warmth and happiness and love until he thought he would burst with it all.

"_I love you_," she mouthed to him.

He smiled. "_Always_," he mouthed back.

The room faded.

o.o.o.o.o

James opened his eyes to see the blank stone ceiling of the Potions classroom. He smiled to himself briefly before sitting up. _That was much better than last time_, he thought.

"Mr. Potter!" exclaimed Professor Slughorn excitedly. The class clapped.

James turned around to face the class, his head whirling in a familiar way. _I'll have to talk to Lily later tonight_, he thought. _This whole head thing is so uncomfortable._

"Would you like to share your experiences?" Professor Slughorn asked.

James hesitated for a second, then shook his head no. Those scenes were private. Lily needed to know them, but she was the only person who did.

The students looked disappointed, but Professor Slughorn did not notice them. He picked up a piece of paper from his desk and handed it to James. "This came for you a couple minutes ago." He then turned around and resumed his lecture.

James opened the note.

**James & Lily-**

**A victim of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named appeared in the Ministry not 20 min. ago. He told us the hideout of several Death Eaters. Come as soon as you can – I'm taking a team to try and capture them. **

**-**_**Arthur Jetolski**_

James got up, refolding the paper. "Pardon me," he said. Professor Slughorn paused his lecture again and looked at him inquiringly. "I've got to go – can you give this to Lily when she wakes up?" James looked down at her. She looked as peaceful as she had when she took the potion the first time. _Only this time, there __is__ a wedding ring on her finger_, James thought, hiding a smile.

"But of course!" said Professor Slughorn. "And thank you so much for taking the potion again!"

"Sure," said James. "Thanks for having us." He nodded at the class and left the Potions classroom with the students' goodbyes ringing in his ears.

He walked quickly. Arthur had said that the victim had appeared in the Ministry twenty minutes ago . . . he had probably owled them and was now waiting for James and Lily to arrive, meaning that it was now more like half an hour ago.

James picked up his pace.

Hopefully, this raid would be successful. It was time they made some headway with this war.

A small part of him noted that he should wait for Lily.

_She'll come soon_, James thought. _When she wakes up, she'll get the note and come right after me. She's probably in the main corridor even now. _

James looked over his shoulder, not breaking his stride, but Lily was not there. He pursed his lips once, wondering why she was taking so long, and then walked out of the castle and onto the grounds.

_On this raid,_ he thought to himself_, we will make some progress. I, for one, will do my best to make a difference_.

He walked out the gates, closed them behind him, and Disapparated.

**Author's Note **– Alright now, people. I'm writing this because you all asked me to, but I'm not going to finish it if you don't review it. There was a disturbingly small amount of reviews for _Flashes of the Future _(one!) , and I want more than last time before I post the second part.

Wackysocks


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer **- **I do not own the Harry Potter series or any of the characters; all are properties of J.K. Rowlings.

_**Flickers of the Future**_

Chapter 2

_Crack! Crack! Crack!_

James stood in front of the Fountain of Magical Brethren in the Ministry, watching as several Aurors Apparated to join the ambush party. It had been a full ten minutes since he had arrived here. _Where is Lily? _he thought a bit worriedly. _She took the potion right when I did, didn't she?_

Arthur Jetolski walked up to join the group. "Is everyone here? It's later than I wanted it to be," he said, then started counting heads.

James checked his watch. _Where on earth is Lily?_ he thought anxiously.

Arthur walked up to him. "We'd better go, James. We have enough people; Lily can stay behind."

_But she hates it when I'm off somewhere without her_, James thought. "Alright," he said reluctantly.

"Okay, everyone," said Arthur, addressing the group. "We will Apparate right outside the village of Bryer and approach the shack where the Death Eaters are staying from there. Is everyone ready? Good – let's Apparate one by one with a few seconds delay to prevent notice."

Arthur Disapparated first with the Prewett brothers. After about twenty seconds, four more Aurors left. And after another twenty seconds, three others. James readied himself to leave.

_Crack!_

Ignoring the sound of a different Apparition inside the Ministry, James began to turn, fixing on an image of the village of Bryer in his head.

"JAMES!"

Shocked at the sudden shriek, James stopped his turn and looked up. There was Lily, panting as if she'd just sprinted all the way from Hogwarts to the Ministry, her hair disheveled and eyes wild with panic.

Even as he took in Lily's appearance, she closed the distance between them at a full spring and flung herself at him so hard that he staggered back a couple steps.

"Don'tgoJamesdon'tleavemeyoucan'tgo," she said, so fast that she was almost incoherent.

James was completely bewildered. Lily had never acted like this before. "What? Lily, what's the matter?" he asked.

She looked up at him desperately, eyes wide and close to tears. "You can't go, James. You'll never come back and I need you!" She buried her head in his chest. "IneedyouIneedyouIneedyou," she mumbled against his shirt.

This was not something that James could put off until later. "Tell Art I can't make it," he said. "My wife is practically in hysterics and I've never seen her like this before."

"Sure thing, James," said the remaining Auror (some Ravenclaw bloke from James' NEWT Transfiguration class a couple years ago), "I'll tell Arthur. We should be alright." As soon as he finished talking, he Disapparated.

The three remaining Aurors glanced at Lily for a second, and then they too disappeared, leaving James alone with his wife.

He looked down at her head, buried in his chest, and realized that she had her arms wrapped around him so hard that it almost hurt.

"Lily?" he asked hesitantly.

She looked up at him, her face desperate. _To know something? To hear something?_

"Are you alright?" he continued.

Lily closed her eyes and began to weep. James held for a couple seconds. _Alright_, he thought. _Take her home, give her something hot to drink, then ask what happened. Something isn't right_.

He walked her over to the fireplace. "Let's go home, okay?" he asked her. Lily nodded tearfully. James threw some Floo powder onto the fire and stepped in.

"Potter residence, Godric Hollow!"

James spun around in the flames for a couple seconds, then tumbled out onto the rug that Lily had picked out for their living room.

He rolled to his feet and walked straight into the kitchen. Flicking his wand around, he soon had two cups of hot chocolate ready, with just a dash of peppermint in Lily's. "Locomotor cups," he murmured, and walked back into the living room.

Lily was sitting on the rug, hugging her knees and crying softly.

Setting the cups down on the table, James walked over to her, pulled her up, and walked her over to the couch, where he pulled her onto his lap. Lily curled up into him, and James just held her, stroking her hair and rubbing her back until her sobs stopped. _Some of the best advice my dad ever gave me_, thought James randomly. _How to deal with weepy women._

Now that Lily was quiet, it was time to talk. "What happened?" asked James quietly. "Why are you so upset?"

Lily looked up at him. "The . . . the potion . . . it . . ."

"Hold on," James interrupted. "Let's start over and alternate scenes like we did last time, okay? Do you want me to go first?"

Lily nodded.

"Do you want hot chocolate? I made some for you."

"Yeah." Lily got up and took one of the mugs, handed the other to James, and sat down next to him.

James sipped his cocoa. _First scene. _The memory of that awful pain came to the forefront of his mind.

"In my first scene," James began, "I had a taste of what life would be like if I divorced you."

"Me too!" Lily exclaimed.

Memories of that pain ached afresh in James' mind. He looked at her. "It was _awful_, Lily. I felt-"

"Stop, stop, don't say any more," Lily said urgently. "Mine was awful, too. I'll never divorce you, never ever!"

James smiled and clasped Lily's free hand contentedly.

"In my second scene, I-"

_He stepped forward to the coffin, reached out, and touched Lily's face. She was so cold, and so hard – nothing like the vivacious woman he married. _

James let go of her hand and put his hand over his eyes. _Stop! She's alive!_

"You had been killed in a Death Eater attack on a Muggle town near London." He mastered himself, uncovered his eyes, and looked her. "I was at your funeral."

Lily stared at him.

"I had to close the coffin over your face, and then watch it being lowered into the ground, knowing that I would never see you again." _And that is something I never, ever want to do again._

This time it was Lily who reached over and clasped his hand. "I am not going to die, James. Just to make sure, I'll stay away from London for a while, alright?"

James smiled and squeezed her hand. Lily took a drink from her mug and cleared her throat.

"In my second scene, I was at St. Mungo's. You were dying." _Here's what must have upset her, _thought James.

Lily set her mug down. "I couldn't do anything but just sit there and watch you die." Lily's voice cracked. "R-Right before you . . . you died, you t-told me to f-find s-someone else t-to love me."

James set down his mug and embraced her as she cried again. _Maybe I was the victim of a Death Eater attack. Or maybe I lost my wand, fell off a bridge, and died. Just like a Muggle. _After a moment, he asked, "Why was I dying?"

Lily straightened and looked into his eyes. "You went on the Jetolski Raid."

James' eyes widened as she told him the real reason for her hysterics. Unconsciously, he pulled her into a tighter embrace than he meant to. "Oh, Lily," he murmured. _No wonder she was so upset. Not only did she see my dying, she also got to wake up to it. That also explains her appearance at the Ministry. She probably __did__ run all the way there._

"That's w-why I was s-so upset, James," Lily said tearfully. "I d-didn't w-want you t-to leave me."

"I will never leave you, Lily," he said sincerely. "Never ever."

James picked up his mug again. "In my third scene, I was in the waiting room of the maternity ward at St. Mungo's. You were having our first child." He took a drink of his cocoa. Cold. He tapped his mug with his wand. Steam started wafting from the top again, and he took another sip. Much better.

"Only there was a problem – it was premature. After a couple minutes, the nurse let me in. You were crying – the baby had died."

Lily let out a sob and unconsciously put her hands around her middle. That gesture brought the memory straight to the front of his mind.

"_James," Lily said, reaching out to him. "I lost him, J-James, I l-l-l-lost him . . ."_

"The nurse told us-" James said, struggling a bit, "-that the baby was born prematurely and had died to overexertion and stress by the mother. Lily, if you work too hard, our first child will die."

Lily sniffed loudly, her eyes teary. "I promise I won't," she said. "I promise."

Comfortable silence prevailed while they drank their cocoa until Lily spoke again.

"In my third scene, I saw what would happen if we worked too much. We were growing apart. Harry was always at daycare, so I hardly saw him and kept missing parts of his life. Little things like teaching him how to play Go Fish or just being there when he needed comfort. I . . . I felt like I was a terrible mother."

_Absolutely not_. "That's not gonna happen," James said immediately. "I will do whatever it takes to provide for us. Our children will grow up with both parents there for them. Alright?"

"Okay," Lily breathed, leaning back on the couch. After a pause, she added, "I guess we've decided to have children."

James looked at her sideways. _Is there some strange hidden meaning that I'm supposed to interpret in that? Ugh! Why don't women just say what they're thinking? _"Don't you want children?"

"Yes." Lily paused again, and turned to look at him. "But I'm not in any big hurry."

James smiled at her, thinking of the potion-children that would, hopefully someday, become real. "My fourth scene was my happiest one, again." He leaned back on the couch and stared off into space, smiling as he remembered the two little kids. "Harry and Rosie came into our room and woke us up – it was Christmas morning. Harry was three, Rosie was two, and Number Three was on the way. Their pajamas were so cute – Harry had Muggle airplanes on his and Rosie's was _very_ pink."

Lily smiled, the worry from her eyes finally gone.

"We went downstairs and had hot chocolate and opened presents. They were _so_ exited. Every gift they opened . . . you should have seen their faces, Lily. I taught Harry how to play Gobstones, and you were showing her how to work a new doll of hers that talked or something funny like that. I would _love_ to have a Christmas like that - I felt _so_ happy."

"That _does_ sound nice," Lily said. She drank the last of her cocoa and set her mug down next to James' empty one.

James looked at the two empty mugs for a moment. They just looked so _right _together.

If something like two empty mugs sitting side by side could look so perfect, then it was probably safe to say that yes, he and Lily were meant for each other. The pain they had both felt in their divorce scenes was not something that the potion had magically assumed. It was something real but not real - a definite part of a possible future that James never meant to travel down.

"My fourth scene was also my happiest," Lily said, smiling as her eyes unfocused slightly with her memory. "We were walking in a park near our home with our four children. Harry was ten – he was fighting bushes with a stick. Rosie had just turned eight. She was picking dandelions. Lorena was pretending to be a princess that Harry was protecting. She looked just like Petunia, James. Straight brown hair, blue eyes, the whole bit. She was six. Luke looked a lot like Rosie. Red, curly hair, your eyes. You tossed him up in the air, playing with him, and he laughed – it was so infectious! Then Rosie handed me her dandelion bouquet, and even though most of them were squished, she was very proud of them. They were all beautiful, James. You even said so yourself."

James stretched, smiling. "I don't doubt it, Lily. They sound beautiful." _Maybe we'll go for a walk in the park tomorrow, just to relax a bit. _Then he cracked off a monstrous yawn. "Man, I'm tired," he said.

Lily yawned as well, then got up and took both mugs into the kitchen.

Not a minute after Lily disappeared, the fire glowed green and Alice Longbottom's face appeared in the fire. She looked a little worried. "Hello James," she said.

James smiled at her. "Hey there."

"Is Lily here? I heard from Frank that Lily showed up at the Ministry in hysterics after your patrol at Hogwarts and I just _have _to know that she's alright."

James walked over and sat down on the rug in front of her. "She's fine. Slughorn was lecturing on the _Video Futurum _potion when we checked his classroom. It was the end of our shift, so when he asked for volunteers, we both took it again. She saw something a little traumatic while she was asleep, but she's fine now."

Alice breathed out a deep sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness! I'm so glad she's alright – I was so worried when I heard that she was in hysterics because she _never _does that. She's just not that kind of girl, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," James replied. "She's feeling better now, though, do you want to talk to her?"

As if on cue, Lily walked into the room.

"Lily!" Alice exclaimed. "How are you? I heard you had gone into hysterics over something awful and I've been worried sick all night."

Lily smiled and sat down on the rug next to James. "It's all cleared up; I'm much better now. How have you and Frank been doing?"

This would last for a while. Once Lily and Alice started talking, they rarely stopped right away.

James got up. "I'm gonna go get ready for bed, 'kay Lily?"

Lily smiled up at him. "Alright."

He heard their voices continue to talk as he walked up the creaky stairs to their bedroom. Sitting on the bed, he took off his shoes and ran his fingers through his hair, sighing after a long day. Then, he tapped the bed with his wand and walked into the bathroom to clean up for bed.

It didn't take him long, and in a couple minutes, he was in the slowly warming bed, waiting for Lily to come up.

But she didn't come up, and the bed's gathering warmth began to work its own magic on James. Drowsy, he thought back on what he and Lily had seen in the potion. _Hmmm. Both of us saw only scenes having to do with each other_, he thought. _The potion like, adjusted to our marriage or something. It's like it recognized that we had changed since the last time and took that into account. I wonder what freaky ingredient does that_.

He thought about the events of that night. Lily looking wild and disheveled, shrieking his name as he was about to Disapparate. Lily curled up in his arms, crying as she said, "You went on the Jetolski Raid."

_Hmmmm_, James thought. _Slughorn said that the potion shows four out of many possible futures. I'll bet that there are multiple futures concerning the Jetolski Raid - I'll bet that there's even a chance that I wouldn't have died even if I had gone on the raid tonight._ _In fact, I'm positive. Just because Arthur took us on a raid tonight doesn't mean that I would have died. It was just a possibility - one of many futures that could have become real._

Regardless of that fact, James decided not to point it out to Lily. She would probably accuse him of being insensitive after she had almost lost him. He imagined her angry - she would get all tense and her eyes would flash spitfire at him as she struggled not to yell.

_Lily, Lily_. Oh, he was still so much in love with her.

Memories, both real and potion-induced, flickered through his head. Lily's white face looking at him in the Potions dungeon after she had first taken the potion in their seventh year. Potion-Lily coming up to him and kissing him as he came home from work, their potion-children playing on the floor. His and Lily's first trip to Hogsmeade together. Lily smiling, snowflakes clinging to her curly hair one Saturday morning in December. Potion-Lily looking up at him, her red hair in a messy bun and her eyes still groggy with sleep. Lily coming down the aisle in a white dress, smiling radiantly as her father placed her hand in James'. Watching Lily blush when he asked her if he had kissed her in her dream.

_Oho!_

James' eyes flicked open, his mind wide awake again as he heard her come up the stairs.

She was trying very hard to be quiet – he could tell. He waited until she left the bathroom and walked over to her side of the bed before saying clearly, "I'm not asleep, you know."

"Actually, I didn't know that," she replied, a little surprised. Then the comforter moved and she slipped in next to him. James rolled over and pulled her close to him.

Lily closed her eyes contentedly, but James wasn't done yet.

"Lily," he said softly.

"Mmmm," she said in response.

"Did I kiss you in your dream?"

She smiled, opening her eyes slowly, and James knew the answer even before she said it.

"Yeah," she whispered sleepily.

"When?" he asked her.

"When we were at the park."

James pulled her closer, looking down into her beautiful green eyes.

"We're not at the park, Lily, but I'm going to kiss you anyways."

Lily closed her eyes, still smiling happily. "You go right ahead," she said.

And so he did.

thEnd

**Author's Note **– Now my "of the Future" series is complete! Four fics, two for Lily and two for James. I didn't mean for it to be that way when I wrote _Glimpses_, but I sure don't mind the way it turned out!

Hope you enjoyed them all! Please review!

Wackysocks


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